Walking into his resort’s staff canteen, he spotted motivational posters adorning the walls. Historical figures like Gandhi, Churchill, Bob Marley appeared alongside witty sayings. But do these celebrities actually utter those words?
Curious, he asked the HR manager about the apt inspirational quotes. The HR boss laughed and shared a secret – the quotes were all fake! Their graphics team just borrowed famous faces and paired them with random uplifting messages.
None of the words actually came from those revolutionary thinkers or musicians. Everything about the ‘inspirational’ posters was a lie.
At first, he felt tricked and foolish. The resort used Gandhi’s image to propagate any wisdom they pleased without the Mahatma’s consent. Like pulling quotes from thin air and slapping them on a revered figure’s photo.
But the longer he pondered it, the more he understood why resorts resorted to such methods. Those long dead celebrities held mythic status in the public mind. Using their faces immediately imbued the random quotes with gravitas and authority.
While disguising made-up sayings as Gandhi wisdom was dishonest, it did spread positive messages to staff. And at the end of the day, did authenticity really matter if it uplifted weary workers? They just needed a mental boost anyhow.
Still, it left a bad taste, this quotational fraud. But he realized it epitomized the resort industry’s culture of hollow illusion. Where nothing is quite as it appears, just tricks designed to please the eye.
In the end, the guests go home happy with their dream holiday memories built on little deceptions, but treasured lifelike truths. Maybe resort life runs on similar harmless lies – anything to help staff escape reality for a while.
Maldives Resort Workers 